Guessing Quiz Answers: Architectural History

Schoneman Park Bridge in Luverne, Minnesota. One of many bridges built by the Hewett Family. This lone Waddell truss bridge was built in 1908 by William S. Hewett

Co-produced with Sister Column, The Bridgehunter’s Chronicles

A few months ago, the Flensburg Files and sister column the Bridgehunter’s Chronicles produced a two-article series on architectural and infrastructural history and their place in the educational curriculum, which included a Guessing Quiz for people to try out. While you can still try the quiz (click here), here are the answers you should have:

1. In the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, structures made of iron melted like lava, which contributed to the destruction of hundreds of buildings made of iron and wood. True or False? False. Most of the houses and buildings that had existed prior to the fire were made of wood and iron. Iron had a low melting temperature which contributed to thousands of buildings to collapse in the heat of the blazing inferno that killed over 300 residents. Ironically, the city’s water tower survived the Great Fire, but the 100-foot tall structure was made of stone. It still remains today as the lone structure that had survived the fire

2. The Chicago School of Architecture was developed shortly after the Great Fire featuring which architects? Name three and how they contributed to architecture. There were over a dozen well-known architects from this school, including William LeBaron Jenney (who invented the skyscraper), Louis Sullivan (who spearheaded the modernist architecture) and Frank Lloyd Wright (who invented the prairie home). A link with more architects and their contributions can be found here.

3. Who created the first automobile in the world: Ransom Olds, Carl Benz or Henry Ford?

Carl Benz was the first person who created the first automobile in 1885; Ransom Olds created the first automobile dependent on gasoline in 1896; Henry Ford was the first to create the assembly line plant to create their automobile in masses in 1908.

4. The Diesel Motor was created in ______ and is named after this German inventor?

The diesel motor was invented by Rudolf Diesel in 1893

5. List the following canals that were built between 1871 and 1915 in chronological order.

6. Prairie Homes consisted of 1-2 story homes made of geometric shapes resembling circles and triangles. True or False? Who invented the Prairie Homes (Hint: he was part of the Chicago School of Architecture).

False, rectangular and cube-shaped architecture were the features of the Prairie Homes invented by Frank Lloyd Wright.

7. Thomas Edison invented the light bulb in 1878, yet Berlin received its first set of electrical lighting in this year?

Berlin received its first electrical lighting in 1884

8. Which of the following bridge engineers did NOT immigrate to the US?

Seth Hewett and the rest of the Hewett family were born in Minnesota. William Hewett originated from Maine.

9. The Minneapolis School of Bridge Builders emerged in the 1890s and later became a counterpart to the American Bridge Company conglomerate after the consolidation of _____ bridge builders in 1901. This School featured which family of bridge builders?

Hewett, Johnson, Bayne, Jones The Hewett Clan, Alexander Bayne, Commodore Jones and Lawrence Johnson made up the Minneapolis School of Bridge Building, where over a dozen bridge building firms were located in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Hewett, Fink, King, Bayne

Voss, King, Jones, Humboldt

Hewett, Maillard, Lindenthal, Steinmann

10. The Rendsburg High Bridge was the first bridge in the world that used the loop trestly approach. True or False? If false, when and where was the first loop trestle approach used? (See video here)

It is hoped that an extended version of the Guessing Quiz would be available for use in the classroom. That plan is still in the works and will be made available through an external source in the near future. Once it’s finished and posted, you will be informed here in the Files as well as in the Chronicles. Stay tuned.